Drinking fountain apparatus



A. G. HAVVS DRINKING FOUNTAIN APPARATUS Filed May 10, 1955 Z 4- u INVENTOR.

y BY M @l l ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 11, 1936 UNI'EED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The invention relates to drinking fountain apparatus and more particularly to the bubbler head and associated fountain portions.

An object of the invention is to provide an ap- 5 paratus of the character described which is so constructed that any attempt by a mischievous person to interfere with the issuance of a stream of liquid from the fountain by stopping up the discharge orifice will cause the liquid to readily by-pass from the head and flow back to the fountain bowl without splash or undue exposure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drinking fountain apparatus having a by-pass discharge to prevent squirting from the main l5 orifice, which, `while arranged for delivering the l liquid into the fountain bowl, is not accessible to the user of the fountain and cannot be shut off by him.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bubbler head in which the orifices from which the liquid issues are so arranged that while a smooth and even stream Will issue therefrom, closing thereof by inserting a pencil or like instrument in the head will be practically impossible.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawing:

Figure l is a front View of the fountain apparatus.

Figure 2 is a side View of the apparatus.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus taken on the line 3-3 of Figure l.

Figure Llis a perspective view of the orifice fitting provided in the bubbler head of the apparatus.

Figure 5 is a top end view of the orifice fitting.

Figure 6 is a plan View of a portion of the fountain bowl in which the feed pipe is set.

In apparatus to which the present invention r relates, it is more or less common to incorporate "o therein a means for preventing any one from manipulating the outlet in the bubbler head so as to cause a squirting of the liquid. Usually said means comprises the provision of a by-pass in the head and through which the liquid is permitted to discharge back into the fountain bowl or drain should the discharge of the liquid from the outlet be restricted. This means has in general been inadequate to properly take care of the problem for the reason that a person so inclined could usually stop up the by-pass discharge orifice the feed pipe.

and then proceed to squirt the liquid from the normal outlet. In accordance, however, with my invention, the by-pass discharge opening is so arranged and associated with the other parts of the apparatus that even a child cannot insert its 5 ringer over the opening, and yet at the same time the liquid may at all times issue freely therefrom directly into the bowl without splash or in a manner presenting an attractive nuisance for a child. l0

As illustrated in the drawing, the fountain apparatus of my invention comprises a bubbler head unit 2 which is made up of a head member 3 and a guard 4, the former being threadedly engaged in a portion 5 of the guard body, which is arranged l5A for the reception of or integral association with a feed pipe extension B. The latter, which is here shown as formed separately of the guard and head member, is designed for mounting on the fountain bowl I0 and is connected with the feed 20 pipe 9 by threaded engagement of the pipe in the bore I2 of the extension. The pipe 9 extends through an opening I3 of the bowl and is clamped in position together with the extension by means of a nut I4 arranged to bear on the under side 25 of the bowl and to draw a fiange I6 on the extension against the inner side of the bowl. By means of one or more projections I'I provided on the extension and fitting in recesses I8 at the sides of the opening I3, rotative displacement of 30 the extension in the bowl, which would permit surreptitious removal of the parts, is simply and effectively prevented.

Preferably, as will be clear from Figures 2 and 3, the head member 3 is obliquely disposed rela- 35 tive to the axis of the pipe or extension 8, and

the portion of the member forming the head proper thereof is spherical in shape and provided with an outlet opening I 9 which defines the outer extremity of a bore or passage 2I extending through the member and communicating with The outlet I9 does not in fact form the discharge orifice for the liquid which is to issue from the head, the real orifice being provided by a plurality of openings 22 prefer- 4 ably formed in a partition-like fitting or nozzle 23 and located exclusively within the head and considerably inwardly of the outlet I9. Retention of the fitting in the head may be provided for in any manner, such as for example by threadedly engaging the same therein and then preferably permanently anchoring same against withdrawal from final position. The openings 22 are located at points spaced from the central axis of the passage 2| whereby a solid portion 23 5D instead of the openings will be disposed directly opposite the outlet I9. In this way, should a person attempt to stop up the openings 22 by inserting a pencil or the like through the outlet,

the end of the pencil will invariably engage the blank portion 23 and thus fail to do any damage. As a further impediment to the successful insertion of the pencil or the like into the head for closing any of the orifice openings, there are provided between the outlet and orifice openings a set of guard or guide members 24 which are preferably formed as a part of the tting 25 and extend longitudinally from between adjacent openings. The members 24, in so far as the feature above mentioned is concerned, provide in common with the outlet end of the head, a form of guard or shield in front of the openings, yet do not interfere with the free flow of liquid therefrom. As a matter of fact the members 24 have an important function in serving to guide the liquid issuing from the orifices, since due to the presence of the guide surfaces directly at opposite edges of each of the openings, the streams issuing from the openings will be kept together .and caused to pass through and emerge from the outlet l in a single integral whole Without any tendency of the same to break up and separate.

One of the most important features of the present invention is the provision in the head unit of an effective non-squirt arrangement. In the present embodiment the arrangement entails as a part thereof, both the head member and the guard. As will be clear, particularly from Figure 3, there is formed within the head member, a by-pass 25 which extends from the passage 2! and is arranged so as to direct the liquid therefrom directly against the adjacent side 21 of the guard. Preferably the passage 2i is formed with an annular groove 28 at the portion thereof surrounding the guides 24, and it is to this groove that the by-pass leads. In this way, even if it were possible to clog up the spaces between the guards, the liquid could still flow freely around the groove and find its way to the by-pass. It is to be noted that the side 29 of the head member is positioned in close proximity to the side 21 of the guard and that the outer orifice of the by-pass is located directly opposite said side 2l. Indeed, so close is the orice to the guard that not even a small child can ordinarily insert its finger therebetween so as to close the orice. It is also important to note that the axis of the by-pass is in such angular relation to the guard surface against which the liquid is directed from the by-pass, that the stream on striking said surface Will be deflected downwardly in the restricted space between the guard and head whereby its force will be readily dissipated and it will flow smoothly and quietly down into the bowl over the lip 3i of the guard. Since the liquid from the by-pass is caused to discharge and flow in the practically concealed space between the head and guard, the flow from the by-pass Will be practically uhnoticeable as well as silent. It will thus be clear that the prevention of squirting from the outlet is effectively taken care of.

Preferably the guard is extended upwardly and over the head member in a graceful curve and is formed with a pair of spaced projections S2 which extend transversely across the guard above the outlet.

I claim:

l. In a drinking fountain apparatus, a bowl, a head member with a liquid discharge passage therethrough and a by-pass with an outlet spaced from the outlet of the first passage, and a guard lopposite the portion of the head containing the by-pass outlet and defining with the head a restricted space therebetween for the flow of liquid from the by-pass, the axis of the by-pass at its orifice being downwardly inclined with respect to the surface of the guard against which the liquid stream will impinge on discharging from the by-pass whereby the stream will be deflected from the guard for substantially direct flow to the bowl.

2. In a drinking fountain apparatus, a head member having a liquid discharge passage therethrough with an outlet at an outer surface of the head, a transverse partition in said passageI having an opening therein for the passage of the liquid therethrough, said opening being transversely offset from the center axis of said passage and partition, a guard spaced from the walls of the passage and positioned between said opening and the outlet for protecting said opening against stoppage by insertion of an instrument approximately the size of said outlet through said outlet and for guiding the liquid issuing from said opening through the passage, and a by-pass extending from said liquid discharge passage intermediate said outlet and opening to the outer surface of the head in spaced relation to said outlet and affording a discharge of liquid from said passage in the event .of constriction of said outlet.

3. In a drinking fountain apparatus, a head member having a liquid discharge passage therethrough with an outlet at an outer surface 0f the head and with a peripherally enlarged chamber in said passage inwardly of said outlet, a transverse partition in said passage inwardly of said chamber provided with a plurality of openings each smaller than said outlet communicating with the passage at both sides of the partition and with said chamber a by-pass extending from said enlarged passage portion to a point on the exterior of the head in spaced relation to the outlet of the first passage, and guard members interposed between adjacent openings in the partition and extending between said partition and said outlet and across said by-pass for preventing access to said openings from without said head member and through said opening by means of an instrument Wider than the spacing between said guard members and serving further for guiding the liquid to said outlet.

4. In a drinking fountain apparatus, a head member having a liquid discharge passage therethrough with an outlet at an outer surface of the head and with a peripherally enlarged chamber in said passage inwardly of said outlet, a transverse partition in said passage inwardly of said chamber provided with a plurality of openings each smaller than said outlet and spaced from the central axis of the passage, guide members interposed between adjacent openings in the partition and extending between said partition and the passage .outlet for guarding said openings against access for covering from said outlet by an instrument wider than the space between said guide members, a by-pass extending from said chamber to the exterior of the head at a point spaced from said outlet, and a guard over and in spaced relation to the discharge orifice of the by-pass.

ALPHEUS G. HAWS. 

